My goodness, chuckm. You're arguing the perfect combination of straw man and ad hominem that I should almost ignore this post. My thoughts....

1, My understanding of "Own the Podium" was top three Gold medals and most medals. As such, it failed. Was it realistic? YES.

2. It was never about a literal interpretation (the one you've promoted earlier in the thread) about dominating in the sense that means majority (ie 50%+1). In a non-boycotted modern Olympic Games, that'll be impossible. Everyone knows it, including the Canadian Olympic Committee.

3. In Canada and the USA, medal rankings are done by total medals, and as such, Canada is third. Others, such as the BBC (British) and ABC Australia organize standings by total golds as the first determining factor. As such, Canada outpaces the USA and Germany. I can't imagine what your comment was for other than getting another dig in at Canada.

4. Truthfully, I prefer the Canadian/American way of doing things. I like that total medals are counted because I prefer to celebrate a broad swath of Achievement. If it's about gold solely, than you might as well get rid of silver and bronze. And as such, I'm proud of our third place in total medals and am thrilled with our first place in total golds (which, by the way, is a historic high, tied with Norway in 2002 and the Soviet Union in 1976).

5. So, was "Own the Podium" a failure? It's shortcomings? Well, not actually achieving the main goal is gonna be a main one, unfortunately. Chosing an easily parodied name will go down as an embarassing joke. It also set amazing high standards, got Canadians exciting about the Olympic Games (and make no mistake, in a recession with memories of Montreal in people's minds, that's noteworthy), funded it's athletes to a level unseen in this country, and showcased a variety of athletic disciplines. So at worst, it's a failure with honorable intentions and notable side benefits.

6. And if you need a dig, wait until after the hockey match - I'm rooting for the Canadians but I have a feeling that the USA will take it in a reversal of 2002. If you're gonna use faulty logic and straw man debates, you might as well kick us when we're down.

Not that I know of. It's always been the number of MEDALS, not the number of gold medals. "Common knowledge" in Canada, maybe.

You have the attitude of a SORE LOSER. WE WON THE GOLD PODIUM!!!!!! Disagree with that. YIPEE

I bet there are a lot of Americans that were stranded in Canada during the Twin Towers Disaster on 911 that were rooting for Canada. You must have missed the special on NBC Saturday evening on all the stranded passengers when the air space in the US was shut down. I hope that you enjoy the closing ceremonies.

Thanks for your kind words Janetfan!! That game was so nervewracking and when Parise scored he gave all of Canada a heart attack!

I can't wait for the Closing Ceremonies - but I am so sad the Olympics are over

Ha,ha - I know what you mean. I wish the Olympics would run for another week.
I remember how much I enjoyed the Calgary games and thought Vancouver was even more impressive.
Boitano won in '88 and now Evan in 2010. Seems Canadian ice brings our guys good luck!